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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
Don't be put off by the professor-student relationship - this is nothing like every other story in that trope. If you've read any of Penny's other books, be assured that this lives up to her demonstrated quality, heart and intelligence in telling a compelling story. Although this is much shorter than her other works, she's able to create fully realized characters whose actions feel authentic and make them people you would want to hang out with. If you read this in her newsletter and got frustrated with Luca, rest assured that she includes just enough balance from his point of view to quiet your doubts and let you fully enjoy their happy ending.
Gah!!! I want moreeeeee!
Merged review:
This was originally a short story called Nobody looks good in leather pants. The author decided to expand the story but you could only read it if you signed up for her newsletter. Then at the end she decides to publish it as a new book and now you have to buy the book to get the ending. Pretty backhanded. She then says the profits from sales go to charity. Then says well, only profits from november sales will go to charity. Now she's doing same thing again with the next book in the series. The original short story was great. Should have left it there, because the story went nowhere then had abrupt ending you had to pay to get after it was promised free. Boo.
Merged review:
This was originally a short story called Nobody looks good in leather pants. The author decided to expand the story but you could only read it if you signed up for her newsletter. Then at the end she decides to publish it as a new book and now you have to buy the book to get the ending. Pretty backhanded. She then says the profits from sales go to charity. Then says well, only profits from november sales will go to charity. Now she's doing same thing again with the next book in the series. The original short story was great. Should have left it there, because the story went nowhere then had abrupt ending you had to pay to get after it was promised free. Boo.
this was unexpected.
I absolutely adored this novella: it's smart, witty, and made me laugh all the way till the end. My only complaint is that I wish the story was developed into a full fleshed novel - more of Luca's family background and more background for Anna and the side characters. Nonetheless, I'm so glad I picked this up, I will now be reading all the books by this author!
I absolutely adored this novella: it's smart, witty, and made me laugh all the way till the end. My only complaint is that I wish the story was developed into a full fleshed novel - more of Luca's family background and more background for Anna and the side characters. Nonetheless, I'm so glad I picked this up, I will now be reading all the books by this author!
OF COURSE I liked this, bc Penny Reid. However, I was hesitating with my four-star rating. I did want to devour this last night and had to go to sleep instead, but then when I reached the end of the book - at 70% - and you are reading that right - I was like, wait, what? I understand this was written as part of the newsletter and was later expanded, and boy is that evident in the arc. Even when I read the "Epilogue in two parts" or whatever (and I was thinking, oh neat, I'm okay with this weird ending of the story at 70% and then a two part epilogue? Cool!), I was still waiting for development and then BOOM! It's over.
I don't like knocking down ratings when the limitations of format are part of the rating, but it's difficult not to do so when I've seen authors write novellas really well. Not that this one wasn't written well - the characters were great - but the arc left me wanting.
I don't like knocking down ratings when the limitations of format are part of the rating, but it's difficult not to do so when I've seen authors write novellas really well. Not that this one wasn't written well - the characters were great - but the arc left me wanting.
This book falls firmly in the New Adult category. It was enjoyable enough. I did like the professor quite a lot. 3 stars
I really enjoyed this book and it reminded me once again why I adore Penny Reid. The smart, incredible characters she writes and the way they hook me in immediately is like no other author! This professor/student relationship was handled really well, felt believable, and I enjoyed the intellectual back and forth between Anna and Luca. Though it was an "age gap" romance, the 10 years between them didn't seem odd given their ages and maturity level.
I was disappointed by all aspects of this book. It was like a tease of being in Russian lit, with a weird mix of really shallow stuff (dying because a Russian professor said Evgeny Onegin instead of Eugene, which literally every Russian professor would do) and overly academic/pretentious analysis. But the obsession with Russian lit and the community that comes with dissecting it brought me right back to college, and that felt real. I don't understand the point of Luca being from a powerful family, it felt like a useless aspect of the plot. I hated the weird obsession with a ~type of nice. I hated the lack of communication and Luca being controlling. And for a romance book, there was too little actual romance. But it was a fast read and it made me think of good Russian things, so I don't regret the three hours I spent on it.
